1. Field
Apparatuses, devices and systems consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to management of computer networks and, more specifically, to network management apparatuses, management protocols and systems using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer networks in enterprise and industrial environments include multiple network objects. FIG. 1 illustrates a generic example of a computer network. The network 100 includes various network objects. For example, the network objects may include infrastructure devices such as router/firewall 140; switches 120, 130, 150; access points 132, 134, 136; and wireless LAN controllers (WLC) 125. The network objects may also include various computing devices, such as servers 110; workstations (PCs) 170, 180; printers 160; and portable computing devices 133, 135 such as personal data assistants (PDAs) and mobile terminals. The network objects shown in FIG. 1 are not exhaustive, and new network objects capable of interacting over a network are constantly being developed by various manufacturers.
A network 100 typically does not include network objects from only one manufacture or running only one system. Rather, it is common to have network objects from many manufacturers and having different network management protocols together on one network. A network including these disparate elements is called a heterogeneous network.
One example of a heterogeneous network is in the industrial automation context. In an industrial network, field devices that include various sensors and control equipment used for monitoring a process may be provided by one or more manufacturers. These field devices may be connected to a switch that is purchased or otherwise provided from another manufacturer, and the switch may, in turn, be connected to a monitoring device made by another different manufacturer. Another example of a heterogeneous network may be a network found in an office networking environment which has several printers made by different manufacturers, one or more servers provided by another manufacturer, several network switches made by another manufacturer that provide connections to various workstations, which are perhaps manufactured by the same manufacturer of the servers or perhaps by a different manufacturer.
Additionally, particularly in an industrial automation setting, often legacy network objects, which have been in place for some time, and it is advantageous to add new network objects from different manufacturers to the network in order to provide for increased functionality.
As more and more network objects are added to the network, network related conflicts between network objects can develop and communication quality can degrade as new network objects add to the traffic on the network, create security issues, and communications quality issues, etc. Network management operations are performed with respect to the network objects in order to ensure that the network is properly configured and provisioned to maintain acceptable communication quality and security in the network.
In order to efficiently carry out network management, it is convenient if the network administrator can carry out the network management operations from a centralized location using a workstation. In such a case, the network administrator manages the network objects remotely using a single program. This program allows the network administrator to monitor the communication status of the network objects and to update network configuration information in the network objects to alter various network properties such as the network topology, quality of service parameters, and so on.
Thus, it is advantageous if the network administrator can be able to easily communicate with the network objects. Most network objects have a network management protocol that allows a network administrator to communicate with the network object from the management server to monitor and configure the network object so that the network administrators can carry out network management operations. Using the network management protocols, a network administrator can remotely monitor communication status and configure and update network configuration information in network objects. However, as discussed above, these network management protocols are typically different for different manufacturers, and one manufacturer or vendor may even provide different products that use different network management protocols. Additionally, as new network objects are added to increase functionality, legacy network objects and legacy network management protocols present challenges.
Thus, network management becomes difficult in the case of managing heterogeneous networks in which network objects are from different manufactures and use different network management protocols.